This invention relates to a photoprinting device which can print films housed in cartridges, a roll of spliced films, or strips of films detached from cartridges.
Ordinary conventional photoprinting devices have a scanner unit and a printing means that are arranged along a straight film feed path. The scanner unit optically reads printing data such as image density data from a film before printing. After adjusting the density of printing light based on the printing data by means of a light adjusting filter, such light is projected onto the film to print images on the film onto a photosensitive material.
The scanner unit has a separate light source for illuminating films, and a sensor for optically detecting image data such as image density data and sending such data to the printing/exposure means after converting such data to electric signals. The film is then sent to the printing/exposure means and is printed.
Heretofore, films were manually fed one by one into such conventional photoprinting/exposure device, or otherwise they were automatically fed into the printer through an inlet after splicing the ends of a plurality of films and winding them on a reel.
In such a conventional photoprinting device, the scanner unit reads image data of each film fed into the device. Based on the image data, the film is printed. Generally, it takes a much longer time to print films than to read image data of films such as image density data and to calculate printing adjustments based thereon.
Because of this difference in processing time, while one film is being printed, it is impossible to read image data of the next film. Also, while image data of one film is being read, it is impossible to print another film.
Thus, with these prior arrangements, it is impossible to process a plurality of films continuously with sufficient speed and efficiency. Also, films have to be cut apart from cartridges (patrones) and spliced or otherwise connected together before feeding them into the printer. Such operations are very time-consuming.
In order to solve these problems, a method and apparatus have been proposed for printing films which uses a rotary table, which can print films without cutting them apart from cartridges and in which image density and other data can be read in the scanner unit independently of the printing process in the printing/exposure means.
This rotary table type photoprinting/exposure device was, however, inconvenient because it cannot process rolls of films. A device which can process any of a film housed in a cartridge, a strip of film and a roll of films is desirable.
Photographic films are available in different widths. For example, there are 135 (35 mm) films and 110 films. Thus, a device which can process films of any size is desirable.
An object of this invention is to provide a method of printing films which can selectively print either films in strip or roll form or films housed in cartridges by feeding films through a single common feed path provided between the scanner unit and the printing/exposure unit.
Another object of this invention is to provide a device for carrying out the above method and which can process films of any size.